Not the ending Danica Patrick wanted…

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It was a painful swansong for Danica Patrick yesterday at the Brickyard, the 36-year-old driver crashing out of the Indy 500 on lap 68.

Patrick was hoping to put an end to her career as an active driver with one last productive run in the blue ribbon event.

Unfortunately, she spun her Go Daddy sponsored Ed Carpenter Racing machine into the outside wall of Turn 2, but was at a loss to explain the mishap.

“I’m not really sure what happened,” she said. “It just seemed to come around. It seemed pretty late off the corner.

"Definitely not a great ending, but I kind of said before I came here that I feel like if it's a complete disaster – 'complete' like as in not in the ballpark at all, look silly – then people might remember that.

“If I win, people will remember that. But probably anything in between might just be a little part of a big story. So, I kind of feel like that's how it is.”

Patrick underlined the importance played by the Indy 500 over the course of her 14-year career in motorsport.

“It’s an entire career, but what really launched it is this. I’ve had a lot of good fortune here and still had some this month. It just didn’t come on race day.”

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.